Italian Sausage Minestrone Recipe

This no-fuss minestrone is perfect family fare on chilly days. Feeling daring? Substitute a can of butter beans or pinto beans for one of the cans of cannellini beans. I serve it with warm with crusty French bread for dipping into the broth.—Elizabeth Renteria, Vancouver, Washington

Nutritional Facts

Directions

In a Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.

In the same pan, saute the carrots, celery, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, bay leaves, Italian seasoning, tomato paste and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Cool soup; transfer to freezer containers. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To use frozen soup: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Stir in ditalini; return to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve with cheese.Yield: 13 servings (3-1/4 quarts).

Originally published as Italian Sausage Minestrone in Taste of Home
October 2011, p63

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"My family absolutely loved this soup. My husband is still talking about it days later. We all took leftovers for lunch the next day, and looking forward to at least one more meal for our family of 3 from this batch. The recipe gives instructions for freezing this, but we went ahead and put the pasta in now with plans to finish it with leftovers without freezing.

You of course don't have to use Johnsonville sausage! The original print version from the magazine doesn't specify that - nice advertising Johnsonville! You could probably use regular diced tomatoes, but I think the fire roasted adds a nice flavor. Serve with a good multigrain fresh loaf of bread."